Let's go fishin': What you need to know about licenses

by Staff report
| March 25, 2022 1:00 AM

MOSES LAKE — With the arrival of spring, it’s time to get out your pole and net, clean off that boat and get ready to go fishing.

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, state licenses to catch fish or collect shellfish are needed to catch anything except common carp, crawfish or bullfrogs or the collection of relic shells. In addition, licenses to catch salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut or Puget Sound Dungeness crab will also include a catch record to track your harvest, and must be returned to the department even if you don’t catch anything, according to WDFW’s website.

Licenses can be purchased online at the department’s website (http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov; you must create an account), by calling the department at 360-902-2464, or by visiting a fishing license dealer.

Freshwater licenses for Washington residents aged 16-69 are $29.50, $7.50 for seniors and $84.50 for non-residents. Licenses are good for the year. For more details on the cost of fishing licenses, check out the WDFW website http://wdfw.wa.gov/licenses/fishing/types-fees.

In Adams County, you can buy fishing licenses at the following retailers:

Ritzville Hardware, 108 W. First Avenue, Ritzville, 509-659-0381
The New Mar Don Resort, 8198 Highway 262 SE, Othello, 509-346-2651
Walmart, 1860 E. Main Street, Othello, 509-488-9295

In Grant County, you can buy a Washington state fishing license at the following locations:

Ace Hardware, 716 13th Avenue SW, Quincy, 509-787-0480
Banks Lake Lodge, 109 N. 6th Street, Coulee City, 509-632-5596
Big 5 Sporting Goods, 815 N. Stratford Road, Moses Lake, 509-764-0337
Big Wally’s, 9944 Hwy 2 E, Coulee City, 509-632-5504
Buck N Up, 332 Main Avenue E, Soap Lake, 509-431-4553
Coulee Playland Resort, 401 Coulee Boulevard E, Electric City, 509-633-2671
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Region 2 Office, 1550 Alder Street NW, Ephrata, 509-754-4624
Desert Aire Grocery, 122 Frontier Way SW, Mattawa, 503-932-4091
Desert Aire Mini Mart, 103 Thunderbird Way S, Mattawa, 509-932-4300
Hale’s Farm and Feed, 1510 Basin Street, Ephrata, 509-398-8554
Main Street Hardware, 113 S. Main Avenue, Warden, 509-349-9906
Quincy Hardware and Lumber, 23 E Street SE, Quincy, 509-787-0800
Sportman’s Warehouse, 1020 N. Stratford Road, Moses Lake, 509-761-7200
Walmart, 1005 N. Stratford Road, Moses Lake, 509-765-8979
Walmart, 1399 Nat Washington Way, Ephrata, 509-754-8837